"You promised me you'd convince your family to marry me!"
Mo Qingyun arrived at a most inconvenient time. Apple seemed to be arguing with a man standing with his back to her.
"Apple, you know I love you, but I can't give up everything for you," the man said softly, taking Apple's hand.
"What about the child? If I have a child for you, will your family let me in?"
"Apple, don't be like this. We have a good time together, why can't we just be happy?"
"Do you see me as just a plaything? Don't you want to be responsible for me?" Apple said sadly.
The man grew impatient.
He suddenly pulled his hand away. "I've given you money, haven't I? Those clothes, those bags, those cosmetics, you accepted them happily. Why don't you be more sensible, okay?"
"I'm pregnant with your child," Apple said in a low voice, trying to hold on.
The man suddenly exploded, "Are you crazy?! Who told you to get pregnant! Get rid of it immediately!"
Apple was stunned. She thought this man was different from other clients. Was all his concern fake?
Or did she mistake the gifts he sent for genuine affection?!
"I'll be on television soon, I'm going to be a big star. Do you deserve to be my girlfriend! I'm telling you, get rid of it immediately! Otherwise, I won't acknowledge you!" the man said furiously.
"I won't get rid of it. I'm going to have it, and I'll make you carry this stain for the rest of your life!!!" Apple, also panicked, felt a humiliation she had never experienced before!
*Slap!* The man fiercely slapped Apple.
Mo Qingyun, hidden in the shadows, heard all their conversation. Seeing Apple get slapped, she flinched back and stepped on a plastic bag, making a noise.
The man's gaze turned nervously towards where Mo Qingyun was. He strode over quickly.
When he saw Mo Qingyun, he didn't bother with introductions and pulled Mo Qingyun in front of Apple. Unsteady, Mo Qingyun tilted forward, falling to the ground. The thermos bottle in her hand shattered, and brown sugar water spilled everywhere.
Apple naturally recognized the thermos bottle. She looked at Mo Qingyun and guessed that Ah Ming had specifically asked her to deliver it.
"What did you hear?" the man said menacingly.
Mo Qingyun shook her head fearfully.
"Do you know her?"
The man pointed at Apple's face while speaking to Mo Qingyun. He began to suspect that Apple had deliberately sent someone to eavesdrop, perhaps even to record their conversation.
Mo Qingyun looked at Apple, unsure whether to nod or shake her head. But she was indeed here to see Apple.
The man sensed the obvious recognition in the two women's eyes.
"Hand it over! What did you record!!! Hand it over!!!"
Mo Qingyun kept shaking her head. She instinctively pressed her hand to her phone in her pocket, but this only deepened the man's suspicion.
In his eyes, the women here were all the same as Apple!
He roughly tried to snatch the phone from Mo Qingyun. Seeing her resist, he began to slap her again and again!
If Mo Qingyun's phone contained a recording, it would be disastrous. He was just here for a bit of fun. His entertainment company was about to give him a great opportunity, and any negative impact at this critical juncture was unacceptable!
Mo Qingyun was no match for the man's strength. The phone was forcibly snatched away.
The man wanted to check for recordings, but the phone required a password. He had no patience to try every combination, so he simply threw the phone against the wall. Seeing that the phone was too damaged to turn on, he was still not satisfied. He found a stone and smashed the phone to pieces, piece by piece.
Apple hugged Mo Qingyun. Faced with the frenzied man, they were so terrified their legs went weak.
After dealing with the phone, the man came back to them, grabbed Mo Qingyun's arm, and yanked her up from the ground. Just as he was about to punch her as a warning, a tall figure appeared behind him.
The person in the shadows yanked hard, twisting the man's arm backward, followed by a *crack* sound, as if someone's arm had been dislocated.
It happened too fast. In perhaps only two or three moves, the man was subdued and then pinned to the ground by a foot on his chest, preventing him from getting up.
Ou Yunchen glanced at the trembling Mo Qingyun. Apart from her clothes being a little dirty and her gaze a bit vacant, she seemed unharmed. He then looked at the sobbing woman on the ground; this must be Ah Ming's girlfriend, as Ah Ming had mentioned. Then this man...
Ou Yunchen thought, why bother with so many details? As long as Mo Qingyun was safe.
Ou Yunchen lifted his foot. The man on the ground, clutching his chest and covering his face, fled quickly.
"During work hours, why are you running out?" Ou Yunchen's tone was as cold as ever.
It had been a long time since Mo Qingyun had seen Ou Yunchen. She hadn't expected their reunion to begin with his reprimand. She wanted to explain, but she glanced at Apple on the ground, who was lowering her head, pouting slightly, looking quite wronged.
"What are you standing around for? Aren't you supposed to be working? Let's go!"
Just as Ou Yunchen was about to move, Mo Qingyun tugged at his sleeve.
"What is it now? Do you want me to carry you?"
Mo Qingyun waved her hand, pointing at Apple on the ground. The woman was crying as if she were the only miserable person in the world.
Ou Yunchen sighed. It wasn't enough that he had to look after Mo Qingyun; now he had to look after someone else's girlfriend too?
"Text Ah Ming and tell him to come pick her up," Ou Yunchen said impatiently.
Mo Qingyun stood there, unmoving.
"Use your phone to send a text. Has your hearing gone bad too?" Ou Yunchen repeated.
Mo Qingyun pulled Ou Yunchen towards the shattered phone, pointed at it, and then looked up at him with pitiful eyes.
"Are you incompatible with phones? Why is it that every time I save you, you break your phone..."
Despite his complaints, Ou Yunchen took out his phone and sent a text to Ah Ming.
Before long, Ah Ming arrived in the back alley in a hurry. He saw his girlfriend on the ground and was heartbroken, on the verge of tears. But he had no idea that his girlfriend had almost abandoned him to fly high.
Seeing Ah Ming by Apple's side, Mo Qingyun felt relieved and left the back alley with Ou Yunchen.
***
When Ou Yunchen and Mo Qingyun entered the shop together, the gossipy male bartenders' expressions instantly shifted from surprise to flattery. Some who had never spoken to them before even made a point of coming over to greet them, as if all their previous gossip had been baseless.
Ou Yunchen, however, did not give them a chance to fawn. He walked straight through the crowd and headed upstairs. Mo Qingyun, wanting to stay on the first floor, was also grabbed by Ou Yunchen and pulled upstairs.
"I'll go say hello to Sister Hong first. Wait for me in my lounge. I have something for you."